Start off your week strong with our curated list of tips and inspiration around every aspect of the digital marketing world. This is the Mad Fish Catch of the Week.
SEO
SEO measurement is usually focused on keyword rankings, but as Google shifts to a more personalized feed of results over a universal experience, we should find new avenues to measure success. While it’s always safe to use lead attribution in Google Analytics and focus on the customer journey, relevancy and organic growth are strong indicators that your efforts are working. Keep a close eye on conversions, and don’t be afraid to dig deeper to get the results you need. Read more here.
PPC
PPC is multi-faceted, with everything from strategy to campaign adjustments. With the rise of automation, many traditional PPC roles may struggle to survive. Looking for ways to succeed? We suggest focusing on strategy or running automation. Data entry and campaign adjustments made automatic can help managers become more efficient and effective, and can help them shift focus to more strategic work – that no AI can replace for years to come. Read on.
Design
Curious why we have ampersands—and how their design came to be? This week we dug into the history in an article that details the history, etymology, and correct usage. For instance, an ampersand is just a ligature of the letter e and t into a single glyph. Wondering when it’s appropriate? Accreditation, clarity within lists, and referencing are all appropriate usage. Knowing when and how to use this character can help you with your specificity. Plus, this piece will help you understand how it came to be and dives into the ways design and language work together. Get the full history here.
Social Media
Pay-to-play has been a part of social media for a few years now, especially on Facebook. Now, they’re making it official, giving priority to pages who are using advertising budgets. For small businesses, this means that reaching their customers, even ones who have already liked their pages, will get even harder. If you’re hoping to help your business take off, it’s important to stay focused and know that some of that social media time and budget needs to be dedicated towards outreach and engagement money. If you need help choosing where to focus, don’t forget you can always contact us for help. Read the rest of the details here.
Content Marketing
Feel like you’ve consumed enough content – including this article? That’s fair. Signs point to the fact that people feel like the market is oversaturated with tons of information, articles, opinions, and more that are flooding your newsfeeds. The answer for some may be the notion that content is over, that we should shift to video, or that we need to strictly use advertising. However, reducing the clutter and noise may, in fact, be able to break through the cloud of content farms past. Learn more about why less is more – even in marketing, in this piece.
Culture
Did you know there are three layers of workplace culture? This striking article reminds us what makes up the amorphous, buzzword “company culture” by breaking it down into artifacts (free lunches, kegs, ping pong tables), to espoused values (what you think you stand for), and basic underlying assumptions – how your company works. This breakdown struck home for me. As someone who is passionate about creating stellar working environments and company culture, regardless of where our team works from, reminding ourselves that we need to focus not just on what we’re saying but what we’re doing is always welcome. At Mad Fish, we walk the walk. Developing transparent salary calculators, a focus on becoming a B-corp, the freedom to utilize your time off without judgment or pressure – it’s all part of how we live our values. As we shift to new endeavors, wanting to continue pushing forward and innovate the way our workplace and company run, it’s imperative that we continue to reflect our values with our underlying assumptions and behavior. Get more strategies here.
Productivity
How many things are you trying to accomplish right now? If your to-do list is a mile long but you never seem to see any movement, this piece is for you. We understand how hard it can be to get focused, but the important thing to note about productivity is the fact that successful people know how to prioritize. Instead of putting out fires all day, they’re able to strategize and attack their tasks with purpose, dedicate time to brainstorming, and make impactful progress on projects instead of checking boxes. The first step? Block out your time. Schedule your strategy time. Take the first steps and make your week rock. Learn more here.